Black Lives Matter, at Least Every Four Years for Two Weeks

The Olympics is a constant exercise in irony and hopefulness for African Americans. Since John Taylor won a gold medal at the 1908 Olympics in London, in the no longer contested medley relay, African Americans have hoped that winning gold for the United States would transform America’s dialogue on race. The hope was it could transform the discourse to see African American Olympians, as all Olympians, as exceptional; and, rather than exceptions to their race, as examples of their race and the families that supported and nurtured their excellence.